TODAY
Rochdale v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sky Sports 2, kick-off 7.45pm
OK, around 650 matches will be screened live this season, but television is still neglecting football. Luckily there has been an acknowledgement of this, as shown in a sneak glance at next season’s Daily Fix schedules. Tomorrow: Rochdale v Southend United, Rochdale TV; coverage of Southend coach journey to ground, Southend TV; post-match warm-down, Sky Sports 18. Wednesday: Gateshead reserves v Jarrow reserves (Paul Gascoigne’s comeback match), Grassroots Plus pay-per-view; viewers of the Sky Sports Additional Extra Bonus 2 channel can interview players during this match by pressing the red button on their remote control.
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TOMORROW
Liverpool v AK Graz
ITV2, kick-off 8.10pm
Jermain Defoe was booked a week ago for removing his shirt when celebrating his goal against Liverpool. To clarify the position of the football authorities: if a spectator hurls personal abuse at a player, that’s fine; if a player takes off his top in front of a spectator, it’s incitement. How far does this principle extend? If a goalkeeper makes a fine save and hurls his gloves in the air in delight, will he be cautioned? What would happen if Fifa took control of cricket? New law: “A batsman shall be given out by the umpire if, on reaching a century, he waves his bat in the direction of spectators, inciting them to rise to their feet in an emotional state.”
SATURDAY
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Match of the Day
BBC One, 10.20-11.50pm
The potential banana skins are on the compost heap, so it’s time to hail a new cliché. Welcome to the phrase “you talk about”, as in “you talk about pace and power, well he’s got it.” This could be slimmed down to “he’s got pace and power”, but Alan Hansen and Andy Gray are among those who cannot talk about anything without saying “you talk about”. It’ s only a matter of time before newspapers discover this space-filling technique, by opening a paragraph: “You write about Thierry Henry scoring a hat-trick, well that’s what he did . . .”
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LIVE MATCHES
Today: 7.45pm: Rochdale v Wolverhampton Wanderers, Carling Cup, Sky Sports 2. Tomorrow: 8pm: Crystal Palace v Chelsea, Barclays Premiership, Sky Sports 2. 8.10pm: Liverpool v AK Graz, Champions League qualifier, ITV2. Wednesday: 8pm: Newcastle United v Norwich City, Premiership, Sky Sports 2. 8.10pm: Manchester United v Dynamo Bucharest, Champions League qualifier, ITV1. Thursday: 4pm: Olympic women’s third-place play-off, British Eurosport. 11.15pm (delayed): Olympic women’s final, British Eurosport.
Friday: 7.45pm: FC Porto v Valencia, European Super Cup, ITV2. 7.45pm: Gillingham v Queens Park Rangers, Coca-Cola Championship, Sky Sports 3. Saturday: 8am: Olympic men’s final, British Eurosport. 12.45pm: Blackburn Rovers v Manchester United, Premiership, PremPlus. 5.15pm: Norwich City v Arsenal, Premiership, PremPlus. 9pm: Espanyol v Deportivo La Coruña, Spanish league, Sky Sports Extra.
Sunday: 1pm: Celtic v Rangers, Bank of Scotland Premierleague, Setanta Sports. 4.05pm: Bolton Wanderers v Liverpool, Premiership, Sky Sports 1. 6.30pm: Real Mallorca v Real Madrid, Spanish league, Sky Sports 1. 8.30pm: Racing Santander v Barcelona, Spanish league, Sky Sports 1.